Homecoming by Catrin Collier Read Free Book Online

change it?’
    â€˜You don’t like it.’ She was crestfallen. ‘It’s the latest …’
    â€˜I’m not fifteen and a half collar any more, sweetheart.’
    â€˜Oh!’ She sat on the bed only to leap to her feet when he moved towards her. ‘I bought them in the warehouse so there won’t be a problem. It’s just as well I didn’t unpack them.’
    â€˜It is.’ Taking the box from her, he pushed it back on top of the others.
    â€˜What size are you now?’
    â€˜Seventeen and a half.’
    â€˜You’re so different. I would have never –’
    â€˜Recognised me. That’s what Katie and Martin said.’
    â€˜You saw Katie?’
    â€˜Only for a few minutes. Martin said she’d been worrying about my reaction to her marriage to your father.’
    â€˜She has.’ She turned to him. ‘You’re not angry?’
    â€˜I wasn’t pleased when I received her letter telling me about it, but I’ve had time to get used to the idea. They seem happy.’
    â€˜They are.’ She looked away self-consciously when she realised he was still watching her.
    â€˜Underneath the extra pounds and inches I’m the same Jack you married, Helen. Come here.’ He opened his arms and she went to him, but she couldn’t stop herself from trembling when he kissed her.
    â€˜I’m so glad you’re back. It must have been horrible in Cyprus.’
    â€˜It was.’
    â€˜Your wounds –’
    â€˜Have healed.’ There was a note in his voice that warned her not to probe further.
    â€˜I’ll make us something to eat.’
    â€˜Do you mind if I have a bath first?’
    â€˜No.’ She jumped away from him. ‘There’s towels in the bathroom.’
    â€˜I saw them. You expecting a platoon?’
    â€˜There’s more in the airing cupboard if you need them,’ she continued, undeterred, returning to the landing and opening both the airing cupboard and bathroom doors. ‘Soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, razor blades.’ She slid back a mirror in the bathroom and revealed well-stocked shelves. ‘I bought you hair cream – I hope Brylcreem is all right – shaving soap and aftershave. I wasn’t sure you’d still be using Old Spice.’
    â€˜Helen.’ He slipped his fingers beneath her chin and lifted her head, forcing her to look him in the eye. ‘It’s perfect. Everything is absolutely perfect.’
    â€˜I’ll start running your bath.’
    â€˜You don’t need to do everything for me.’
    â€˜Then I’ll go downstairs and …’ Ducking under his arm she almost ran away from him. Deciding she needed a little time to grow accustomed to the idea of him being in the house, he went into the bathroom and turned on the taps.
    Robin pushed his shirt into his trousers, buckled his belt and pulled his zipper. ‘Fit for the pub.’ He looked at Emily who was struggling to fasten her bra. ‘Here, you’re hopeless.’ Tugging her blouse free from her skirt, he slipped his hands beneath it and hooked it for her.
    â€˜Thank you. Can we talk for a minute?’
    â€˜In the pub.’ He reached for his keys.
    â€˜Please, Robin, here.’
    â€˜It’s bloody freezing.’
    â€˜We need to set a date for the wedding.’
    â€˜Not until everyone’s stopped talking about your father.’
    Knotting her hands together, she looked down at her lap. ‘That will be too late.’ She paused before finally finding the courage to say what she had been trying to tell him for weeks. ‘I’m pregnant.’
    He turned off the engine and stared at the sea. Dark, gleaming, a narrow silver path glittered to the horizon reflecting the light of the moon. ‘I don’t understand … How can you be?’
    â€˜We have sex every time we meet.’
    â€˜I always use